Tonight is the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, and I can’t wait. It’s looking to be a good show, and a long one… and one with the price jacked. But I can’t wait. Just relaxing a little bit before I go out, and wanted to do something I’ve been aiming to do for awhile: an old-fashioned return of Points of Interest. I’ve got a lengthy backlog of articles and links to content that are more or less timeless, and would like to whittle that list down just a bit, and today seems like a good day to do it.

But before I go on, I just want to remind anyone who might still be reading this that comments are welcome and are appreciated. You don’t have to agree with anything I say or like, but I just like to get some feedback, to know this stuff isn’t in vain. It helps drive me to do more of it. I really need to talk to Lance about getting a hits counter put on here as well, that helps, too. So yeah, as long as you’re not being outright disrespectful, any comments are welcome.

Now, on with the links!

1. First up, if you don’t know about showing off your New Xbox Experience Avatar online, as I’ve done here, then the URL you want is http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/username/avatar-body.png Just place your Xbox LIVE ID in the italicized part marked “username,” and there you have it.

   I’ve only just recently been able to tailor my Avatar to my liking, thanks to the hat and coat you see there. Now it finally feels right, like it’s mine.

2. I mentioned WrestleMania up above, and last night was the WWE 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Part of it was broadcast on USA, which we don’t get in Canada. For some stupid reason, The Score has elected to hold off and show it at 5pm tonight– which means that it will be two hours before the start of the event, and for those like me who have to go out to a theater to catch the event, we don’t get to see it.

   Fortunately, and I didn’t know this last night, but there was a live stream on WWE.com, and you can find the videos here, divided up nicely by segment. So if you want to see the inductions of Cowboy Bill Watts, the Von Erichs, ring announcer Howard Finkel, Koko B. Ware, Terry & Dory Funk, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, or last, but not least, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the videos are there for your convenience.

   I lived and watched through the Austin era, so seeing his induction was pretty cool.

3. Edge Online had a feature a while ago which noted that Nintendo proved their critics wrong, namely those who said they should just get out of the hardware business. However, even though the Wii and DS are both tremendously successful, they talk about “Nintendo’s Wii 2 Dilemma,” whether or not following up on their current batch of consoles may be able to keep the same momentum going.

   There seems to be little doubt that when the next Xbox or the next PlayStation comes along that they’ll try to implement the same trickery which Nintendo has managed to incorporate into its less-powerful box. Some even believe that they’re trying already, next generation be damned. Which leaves one to wonder how Nintendo can stay ahead of the curve.

   One advantage they’ll have, at least, is the head start in experience working with the technology. But how long will that last?

4. And on a related note, this month marks the 20th Anniversary of the Game Boy. 1UP’s Retronauts Blog is celebrating by leading up to the anniversary of the handheld’s August US release with a look at some of the platforms top games, and an article which notes how Nintendo seems to excel most when it’s not trying to go mano-a-mano with other consoles in a strictly power game.

   The Game Boy, Wii, and DS are all excellent examples of this in action, while one notes that the Nintendo 64 could be considered where Nintendo began to stumble, and the GameCube where it seemed to falter, with the latter being even more powerful than the PlayStation 2, which continues to sell to this day. One may even argue that, going strictly in terms of sales, at least, that he who has less is going to sell more, given the PlayStation and PlayStation 2.

   Now, let’s just hope this doesn’t lead to a reverse-arms race that strips everything back down to Pong in an effort to under-do the other guy.

5. I have a soft spot for Midway, dating back to when I would go into arcades and see their name proudly emblazoned upon such classics as Pac-man (before Namco took the American reigns– at least Midway gave Pac-man Coke to drink), Pole Position, Paperboy, Rampage, Defender, Joust, Spy Hunter, NARC, and then later on, Mortal Kombat (in its earlier glory days), NBA Jam, San Francisco Rush– the list goes on and on.

   But I digress. I have a lot of fond memories of Midway, and it pains me to see just how far they’ve fallen, and how low they’ve sunk. I hate to see people declare the company should die, but I can certainly understand why they feel that way. I just wish the company would get its act together. It needs to, and fast; if the Mortal Kombat team packs their bags and leaves, that is going to leave the company in dire straits.

   I think maybe the company should look at its long, rich arcade history, and try to work with that more: Create lower-cost, downloadable games for services such as Xbox LIVE Arcade, WiiWare, and the PlayStation Network, and not worry about creating million-dollar blockbusters with state-of-the-art whatever. The potential is there– just look at what Namco has done with Pac-man: Championship Edition and Galaga Legions.

   Please, Midway, I’m begging you– it’s for your own good.

6. Crossovers are fun. And sometimes, nothing less than wild. Something like Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team kind of works, in an offbeat sort of way. Other times, the contrast between properties is so great, you just can’t help but laugh when they get paired up.

   And though none are real, that is just what Cracked.com has taken a look at in their article, “If Video Game Characters Could Switch Games.”

   I particularly like the Mirror’s Edge/Super Mario 64 mix-up. It just speaks to me. But be careful of #8, it’s NSFW. Er, sorta.

7. It wasn’t that long ago that N4G was an alright site. But ever since it was bought by Future and became a part of Games Radar? Well, I’ll just let Chad at Ripten lay it out for you.

   Now, it’s the last place on Earth I want to submit any news to, as doing so seems to lead to more trolling than anything. Personal attacks and death threats against an author? It’s only a few clicks away! Even 4chan is hospitable by comparison.

   Chad there says that he doesn’t “hate” N4G, “but I do find the direction the site is heading to be an unfortunate one.” Personally, I think he may only now be catching up to my opinion of it.

   And if you agree, feel free to Digg this article!

8. Looking forward to TMNT: Smash-Up? I most certainly am. If its cards are played right, it may even make my Game of the Year. Of course, there’s still Bionic Commando to get through, so we’ll see.

   In any case, Gameplayer has a blog from one of the game’s developers right here, so check it out.

9. Via GoNintendo, 4 Color Rebellion talks about the game they would most like to see receive a “Wii-make.”

   Their choice is interesting, but personally, I’m going to chime in with Luigi’s Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. I’m hopeful that whatever might result from the latter would be a much more fun experience for me. I think being able to use the Wii Remote to aim FLUDD’s nozzle would be a tremendous improvement. And maybe allow more flexibility in the camera.

   As for Luigi’s Mansion, I could see some good mechanics come from using the Wii Remote’s motion controls to try to “reel in” a ghost. I wonder if Wii MotionPlus would be a better fit, however. Nonetheless, using the B trigger for the flashlight and A button for the vacuum sounds like it could be more intuitive than the GameCube’s setup, which in itself worked quite well.

   The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker seems like a no-brainer; I’d say Mario Kart: Double Dash!! does, too, except I imagine there’s the possible concern of it cannibalizing sales of Mario Kart Wii. On a related note, I want a Wii version of Burnout and Crazy Taxi, be they original or remake.

   Which games would you like to see “Wii-made?”

10. Again via GoNintendo, TWG News talks about ten changes they would like to see in the next Legend of Zelda title. And to be honest, as much as I like Twilight Princess (it remains my favorite 3D Zelda to date), I can’t say I outright disagree with any of them.
11. When life imitates art: Game Informer looks at how TNA Wrestling adopted a persona created specifically for players in the iMPACT video game, and turned it into a real-life wrestling star.
12. SEGA is notorious for essentially having the world in the palm of their hand, and then making mistake after mistake to drive them straight out of the hardware business. So what were their ten worst? True Game Headz gives their point of view.

    And after reading this, I’ve learned things about Bernie Stolar that I didn’t know before, and now have a dislike for the man. His “no 2D or RPG games” policy spoken of within seems to substantiate other claims I’d heard about SCEA, and his departure makes the latter-day releases of such titles make more sense.

13. And finally, for the moment at least, video game villains are the character that are born to be hated. But, what if we’ve simply misunderstood them all this time? What if they really aren’t so bad deep down? Gameist takes a look at four such villains who perhaps just need a little understanding.

    This one is worth reading for the entry on Mavericks alone.

And that’s a wrap for today!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 2:52 pm and is filed under Points of Interest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.